Joel & Justine

Joel proposed on a Saturday morning with an early alarm, some mysterious instructions to follow which resulted in a proposal with him in a tuxedo and me in my pj’s! He proposed with a beautiful antique, European Cut diamond. I love the history behind the ring and it is because it was cut by hand, it makes it totally unique. I was then handed a full weekend agenda including lunch at The Witchery and staying at Prestonfield House in Edinburgh. Joel then arranged a meal with our families followed by drinks with our friends to celebrate when we returned on the Sunday night.

 

 

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We had our wedding ceremony at Hexham Abbey and our reception at Shortflatt Tower in Belsay.

My dress was Justin Alexander and it was a dress I saw in an editorial piece in the first bridal magazine I was given. I bought it from Mia Sposa in Newcastle who were brilliant, especially Joy who helped organise my bridesmaids dresses and who kept me sane when I convinced myself it didn’t fit! Later in the evening I changed into an ivory party dress with heavily embellished collar so I could dance.

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 I knew I wanted a 1940’s influence; my dream was always to have waves like Veronica Lake. Lisa Cameron delivered exactly what I wanted. The nod to this earlier, elegant era was complimented by Nick at ND Makeup who gave me a retro winged-eye look and managed to find the perfect pink lipstick in her own makeup line.

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We wanted to avoid a ‘theme’ but we choose a simple, summery style so we want for the classic colour combination on a French navy and pale pinks. As soon as Joel found his tie – navy punctuated with pink fleur-de-lys, then it sealed the deal. 

We wanted to avoid a ‘theme’ but we choose a simple, summery style so we want for the classic colour combination on a French navy and pale pinks. As soon as Joel found his tie – navy punctuated with pink fleur-de-lys, then it sealed the deal.

Although we wanted a fresh summery look for the wedding, we also wanted some gold touches to add some glamour. Charlotte expertly pointed us in the direction of her weathered gold vases and candle holders. We had tea lights and pillar candles on each table – our biggest bugbear is not being able to see people across the table at weddings! To highlight the lovely entrance of Shortflatt Tower and Finishing Touches provided bay trees and pink hydrangea plants to tie into the scheme.

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 We used Alnwick Wedding Cars who were great. We selected a beautiful, all cream vintage Rolls Royce Shadow and a classic, seven seater Daimler for bridesmaids and parents. 

We hired Kelly and the Sensations who were absolutely brilliant and they then acted as DJ. Their choice of music resulted in some remarkable moves including some dubious matador and break dancing. The ‘Purple Rain’ finale is now something of folklore…

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One of the key reasons for having our reception at Shortflatt Tower was so we had total control over what we served to our guests. Our favourite champagne and some of our favourite, local, seasonal foods were top of the priority list! We choose Love Food as our caterers because Rebecca gave us total faith that they would deliver on the day. She also didn’t run a mile when I came to the second tasting with a meeting agenda!
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Joel and I are both very close to our relatively small families and so our day wasn’t just about us, but them too. Our wedding bands were made from gold given by both families and part of the decoration was wedding photographs of our parents and grandparents.
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As favours, Joel and I made individual, spicy plum chutney for our guests to enjoy with our cheese later in the evening. I also wanted to acknowledge those best friends from school who weren’t my bridesmaids; so each of them had a special card and gift waiting for them at their place setting.

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 Supplier Directory 

Venue: ShortFlatt Tower & Hexham Abbey

Photographer: House of Hues 

Florist: bels flowers

Dress: Justin Alexander 

Make Up: Nick from ND Make Up

Hair: Lisa Cameron 

Wedding Cheese Cake: The Northumberland Cheese Company

Wedding Cars: Alnwick Wedding Cars 

Music: Kelly & The Sensations 

Food: Love Food 

Wedding Decoration & Styling: The Finishing Touch Company